Cell structure for folding boxes



E. H. LUPTON A ril 30, 1935.

CELL STRUCTURE FOR FOLDING BOXES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1933 Patented Apr. 30, 1935 UNITED.) STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,999,909 7 CELL STRUCTURE OR FoLnmd BOXES V H I Elmer H. Lupton, Ilchester', Md. Application September 26,1933, Serial No'. 690,251

A 1 clahhu'ioiibzaa lsl In my co-pending application, Serial Number within the casing, each celliadapted'to receive a bottle and the cells adapted to fold flat when the casing is collapsed.fl.1n*the structure described in the aforesaid application, the. cells in each row are separate parts, united by having their adjacent sides g'lued'togetliera The presenti'nventionrelates to a method of making th8."-.-ql1S-Wh e by each row of cells is made as a un'it'ifrom asingle-blank, the adjacent cells in theirow being 'connected'together alternately at their top and bottom edges at creased lines in the blank," "whereby the cells may fold against oneanotherflandthe' endsof the cells will'be more evenly of the same height than where the cells ar emade separately and fastened together. Also by this method a saving in labor in the gluing operation is efiected, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is aplan view of a blank creased and cut to form four connected cells;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank, folded alongits longitudinal creased lines and having its-lateral edges brought together and fastened,

forming a tube;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the several sections of the tube, partly folded along the transverse crease lines, forming a series of connected cells;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of several cells within a folding casing;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 4, and,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the casing and the cells, partly folded.

Referring first to Fig. 1, A represents a strip of paper board, creased and cut to form four series of connected cells. The strip has four longitudinal creases, l, 2, 3 and 4, dividing the strip into four panels, 5, 5, I and 8, of equal width, extending longitudinally of "the strip, and a narrow longitudinal flap 9 at one side, and divided by transverse cuts and creases into four equal parts, a, b, c and d, of equal length. Thus, the parts a and b are divided by a crease l0 extending across the panel 8 and by cuts H in the panels 5, 6 and I and the flap 9. ,The cuts ll do not entirely sever the panels 5, 6 and 1, but leave short connecting portions l2 in the panels between the parts a and b. Between the parts b and c, the panel 5 is creased transversely, as shown at I0 while the other panels and the flap 9 are cut as fshownfat ill, short connecting portions l2 be- 6'73,537, I have shown a folding casing, com-,.. posed of paper board, 'withcells arranged in rows ing left in-fthe panels. The parts 0 and d are divided in the same way as the parts a and b ,by 'a-crease Ill in the panel8 and cuts I l in the panels5', Band I and in the flap 9, the cuts in 5 the? panels extending only partly across the same,

leaving connecting portions l2.

To form the cells, the blank, cut and creased as described, is first folded along its longitudinal crease lines into tubular form, as shown in Fig. 10 2, and by a single gluing. operation the flap 9 of the blank is glued to the margin of the panel 5. Assuming the tube to have been formed as described, in order to complete the unit of four cells, the operator, by twisting the sections a and b slightly in opposite directions, breaks the connecting portions l2 between these sections and in a similar manner breaks the connecting portions between the sections b and c and between 0 and (1. As illustrated in Fig. 3,

the section a is then folded along the crease linel0 against the section b; the section 0 is folded along the crease line ill against the opposite side of the section b and the section d is folded along the crease line 10 against the section 0.

Thus, the four sections of the tube, in Fig. 2,

form a unit of four cells of equal dimensions, the

successive cells in the series being connected alternately at their upper and lower ends and standing at the same height when brought together in the casing, as illustrated in Figs. 4

and 5.

In Figs. 4 and 6, three units of four cells each are shown in the collapsible casing E. Thus, one unit is indicated by the reference characters a, b, c and d; another unit is indicated by a, b, c and d, and the third unit is indicated by a b c and d Before being placed in the casing, the sides of adjacent cells in a unit may be glued at the ends opposite to those which are integrally connected along the creased lines. Thus, referring to Fig. 3, a smear of glue will connect the upper ends of the sides 8 of sections a and b; the lower ends of sides 6 of sections b and 0 will be similarly connected, and the upper ends of sides 8 of sections c and d will be similarly connected. Also, before being placed in the casing, the longitudinal c'reaselines of the cells will be given a set so that the cells in each unit will fold alternately in opposite directions as indicated in Fig. 6. When placed in the casing, the 'end cells are glued to the sides e so that when these sides are spread apart, in unfolding the casing, the units will straighten out and the cells will be rectangular in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The sides e' of the casing fold outwardly, as indicated in Fig. 6, and when the sides e are pressed toward one another, the cells fold in zigzag manner and flatten out between the sides e, as described in my co-pending application, hereinbefore referred to. In order to fold in this manner between the opposing sides, it is essential that each row shall be composed of an even number of cells.

One advantage of the method of construction hereindescribed is that the ends 01' the cells in each unit are necessarily flush with one another and do not interfere with the closure of the cover portions of the casing, as might occur if the cells were made separately and fastened together, and the labor cost is reduced because the adj acentcells are integrally connected at one end and these integral connections position the cells so that their in some of the rows being attached to said nonfolding sides, the successive cells in each row being 15 creased to foldoppositely in zigzag manner.

ELMER H. LTL'PTON. 

